That summer slowdown, tho
I missed my last newsletter. 🤦🏽♀️
As I usually do when I miss one of my self-appointed timelines, I felt guilty about it. But, like, only for five minutes this time.
Debs—my momma and the namesake of this newsletter—quickly reminded me to "have grace with yourself, Nicole."
I realized everything and everyone is a little quieter right now.
Clients are taking vacations. Hiring managers are out of office. Calendars are harder to coordinate. Even my own routine has shifted with longer evenings, trips, and trying to soak up a little more sunshine before fall arrives.
Summer has a different rhythm.
And that's okay. In fact, that’s good.
Ironically, that's exactly what I've been reminding my clients these past few weeks.
Almost every conversation has sounded a little like this:
"Nicole, it's so quiet. Is something wrong?"
↻ Recruiters aren't responding as quickly.
↻ Interview processes have slowed.
↻ Applications seem to disappear into the void.
↻ Networking conversations are harder to schedule.
It's easy to make the slowdown mean something about you.
But most of the time? It's just July.
Hiring has seasons.
July and August are what I affectionately call the sleepy season.
Companies are still hiring, but vacations, summer Fridays, leadership travel, and shifting priorities naturally stretch timelines. Decisions that might have taken a week in March suddenly take three.
That doesn't mean the opportunities disappeared; it just means they're moving a little slower.
The mistake I see people make is assuming they should slow down, too. Don’t think that!
This is actually one of my favorite times to prepare for what's next.
Because while everyone else is waiting for things to happen, you can quietly build momentum.
If you're job searching, this is the perfect season to:
Refresh your résumé before everyone else starts updating theirs.
Strengthen your LinkedIn profile.
Reconnect with people in your network.
Practice interviewing instead of waiting until you have one.
Learn a new skill you've been putting off.
Build the systems that will make your search easier when hiring picks back up.
And yes, I fully believe the September Surge is real.
Every year, once Labor Day passes, calendars fill back up, hiring teams return, budgets are clearer, and many organizations want to make progress before the end of the year.
The people who benefit the most aren't the ones who start preparing in September.
They're the ones who started in July.
Not Looking for a New Job?
This advice applies to you, too.
Summer is one of the best times to pause and take stock of what you've accomplished this year.
Before life gets busy again, start a simple document where you capture:
Wins you're proud of.
Projects you've led.
Metrics you've improved.
Positive feedback you've received.
New responsibilities you've taken on.
Problems you've solved that no one asked you to solve.
Your future self will thank you.
Come performance review season, you won't be trying to remember what happened eight months ago. You'll already have the stories, examples, and results that demonstrate your impact.
Join the LinkedIn Convo
It’s time to build work around life instead of life around work.
Letting fear determine your career decisions? Not in this economy.
The one thing I hope you take away from my conversation with Candace: You can lose a job without losing your value.
What does Antarctica have to do with career clarity? You be the judge.
Quick question, Millennials: How we feeling about those life choices right about now?
School ⇢ Career ⇢ Promotion ⇢ Success
That was the deal, right?
And yet somehow, you're sitting there wondering why it doesn't feel the way you thought it would.
Before you turn that into a personal failure, hear me out.
This week I'll be joined by friend and executive leadership coach Ruthie Kim for a conversation about limiting beliefs—those small stories we tell ourselves that often have more influence over our careers than the job market itself.
We'll be talking about:
➚ What limiting beliefs actually are (and how to recognize them)
➚ The most common beliefs keeping job seekers stuck
➚ The one belief Ruthie hopes you'll leave with instead
Whether you're actively job searching, thinking about a career change, or simply feeling stuck where you are, I think you'll leave this conversation with a new perspective—and hopefully, a little more belief in yourself.
Whether you're searching for your next opportunity or growing in your current one, Friend, this season isn't wasted.
Sometimes the quieter seasons are the ones where we build the foundation for everything that comes next.
So if things feel a little slower right now, don't panic.
Prepare.
September will be here before we know it. 😉
Until August (!!) 11, travel in grace, knowing you are surrounded by love.
Work with me 1:1 → Step into a focused alignment experience to clarify your direction and intentionally reposition your leadership. I’m currently scheduling for August and have 3 spots left!
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